Not only is Timothy Bradley one of the better pound-for-pound fighters in the game today, he’s also one of the most respected. It would be difficult to find one person in the industry with anything negative to say about the overall character of the man.

But that doesn’t mean Bradley won’t take a stand when his worth is challenged like it was recently when promoter Bob Arum said Bradley would not be considered for a fight with Manny Pacquiao.

“Bradley is an excellent fighter, but nobody’s ever heard of him,” said Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter. “Very few people have heard of him. It has nothing to do with his abilities. He’s a very able guy. But he hasn’t been promoted so that he’s like a household name where he could be a viable pay-per-view opponent.”

During a telephone conversation Wednesday, Bradley came with guns blazing.

“I think he’s completely wrong,” said Bradley, who next Saturday will take on Luis Carlos Abregu in the welterweight main event at Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage. “I am a bigger name than Joshua Clottey, no disrespect to Clottey.”

Pacquiao defeated Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium, and the fight sold 700,000 pay-per-view buys.

“I can’t even go to Staples Center and walk out without signing hundreds of autographs, or just go somewhere and not be recognized,” Bradley said. “I have tons of fans in L.A., all over the world. I’ve been overseas and I have a lot of fans overseas as well.

“I don’t really see that. It kind of makes me upset. … I think that is a lame excuse they are suggesting because they don’t want to fight me. They feel it is too high of a risk for too little reward.”

Shaw said Arum is considering Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto as alternates because Arum also promotes them and wants to keep everything in-house. Clottey is also promoted by Arum.

One thing’s for sure, a Bradley-Pacquiao fight would likely be 10 times more exciting than the snooze-fest that was Pacquiao-Clottey.

The blame for that falls on Clottey, whose main focus was turtle-like defense. Bradley would go for the gusto.

On Thursday, before a workout at Fortune Gym in Hollywood, Bradley smiled when asked what a fight with Pacquiao would be like.

“He’s a speedster, throws a lot of punches, and it would be fireworks, man,” said Bradley, 26. “He’s going to throw, I’m going to throw. It would be a great, competitive fight. All action.

“I got a big will to win, man. And I’m going to keep coming all night. It is fun talking about it, man. But to actually get in there and do it, it would be even more fun.”

Bradley, who holds one of the junior welterweight world titles, is 25-0 with 11 knockouts and 4-0with one no-contest in championship fights. He is ranked No. 8 in the highly respected Yahoo.com top 10 pound-for-pound poll.

However, including next Saturday’s bout, his past three fights will have been contested at Agua Caliente Casino, a venue that holds a shade over 2,000. Three consecutive fights in a small arena doesn’t strengthen his argument that he deserves to be considered for a fight with Pacquiao.

Remember, Pacquiao demands big bucks and Arum has to cover that.

The best thing for Bradley – assuming he gets past Abregu – would be to come back down to junior welterweight and unify the belts.

There are incredible possibilities at that weight. Devon Alexander holds two of the belts and Amir Khan holds the fourth. Marcos Maidana, who holds an interim title, is also in the mix.

Bradley seems to understand in order to get a fight against the likes of a Pacquiao or a Mayweather, one has to earn it. He’s willing to do that by cleaning out the junior welterweight division.

“I still have unfinished business (at 140),” said Bradley, of Palm Springs. “I have Devon Alexander I want to take care of, I have Amir Khan I have to take care of, and (Marcos) Maidana. We can do a hat trick.

“These guys, I want to face. Devon and his team have been woofing a lot and we need to make this fight happen for boxing and boxing fans.”

Alex Camponovo, of Thompson Boxing, said he would like for Bradley to have one more bout after next Saturday before taking on Alexander early next year in order to build up that fight.

“If we’re able to get the other guys at 140, that will be fantastic for this division,” said Camponovo, who also alluded to the possibility HBO – which is televising Bradley-Abregu – might sponsor a 140-pound tournament.

If Bradley were to beat Alexander in a unification fight, then take care of Khan, it would be difficult for Arum or anyone else to say Bradley hasn’t paid enough dues to warrant a fight with the top dogs.

The top two are Mayweather and Pacquiao, respectively ranked No. 1 and No. 2, pound-for-pound, by Yahoo.com. They’re both welterweights, but Bradley would be more than happy to continue to toil there if one makes himself available.

Interestingly, he said his most preferred fight is one with Mayweather.

Why?

“Man, he’s the best fighter in the world,” Bradley said. “Why wouldn’t you want to get in the ring with that guy?”

One thing people in the industry do say about Bradley is that he wants to fight the best.